The day I met you
by Queenphoenix
Summary: Meet Ishizuka Kenji the new boy at Seishun Gakuen, and the first person in the world to ever call Tezuka 'dude'. He's talkative, friendly, into aikido, and is gradually developing the idea that all tennis players are weirdos. This is his story.
1. Tennis players are all weirdos

Disclaimer: I do not own Tennis no Oujisama

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**Tennis players are all weirdos ****

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**

Tezuka made his way quickly along the streets on his way to school, his mind occupied with attempting to plan the upcoming ranking matches.

Absently, he heard a loud voice yelling behind him. "Yo, dude!" it shouted. Tezuka reflected vaguely that he never had understood people's need to shout like that in a public place.

"Hey!" the voice shouted again. Surely it wasn't talking to him? Tezuka frowned slightly. He had never in his entire life been called 'dude'.

Tezuka's pace didn't slow as a tall, panting boy of about the same age as him ran up to him.

"Thank god!" the boy said with a grin, matching his pace with Tezuka's as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "I thought I was gonna be late! It's my first day, and I'm hopeless with directions…" the words trailed to a stop as the boy registered Tezuka's icy silence, blinking as he contemplated possible reasons for said silence.

Suddenly comprehension dawned on his face. "Oh, sorry!" he exclaimed. "The name's Ishizuka Kenji," he introduced himself, stumbling as he attempted to bow while keeping up with the rather fast pace set by Tezuka.

"Tezuka Kunimitsu," came the curt reply, accompanied by a brief nod in the other boy's general direction.

Kenji stared at him, seeing his face properly for the first time. "Wow, you're hot!" he exclaimed in a surprised tone.

Tezuka ignored his comment with a stoically blank expression, and brusquely continued walking.

"Oh, I get it," Kenji said with a grin. "So, you're the strong, silent type?" he gave an almost wistful sigh. "Wish I was," he grinned again. "It'd be so much easier to get a date."

Tezuka stoically kept his disapproval and annoyance to himself.

This didn't perturb Kenji in the slightest. "So, are you seeing anyone?" he asked cheerfully. Tezuka glared at him. Why was he asking such a personal question? "No," he replied shortly, quickening his already fast pace in the hope that the other boy would be unable to keep up.

"Ah, that's such a waste!" Kenji admonished him. "Hey, slow down!" he added "You're too damn fast."

Tezuka made no attempt to so much as acknowledge his request. Couldn't Ishizuka find someone else to follow? They must have passed at least five other Seishun Gakuen students by now.

"…Or not," Kenji grinned, lengthening his stride. "Got any hobbies? I bet you're a kick-ass martial artist or something."

"Tennis," Tezuka corrected tersely.

Kenji blinked. "Tennis?" he repeated in disbelief. "Are you any good? I don't like tennis very much," he added.

Tezuka glared at him for the terrible double crime of doubting his ability and not loving tennis with a passion.

"Sorry," Kenji said unapologetically. "I'm an aikido boy myself. I have this tendency to think that since I'm obsessed with aikido, everyone else should be too," he confessed, rubbing the back of his head.

Tezuka nodded curtly. It was a sentiment he could understand.

"Hey, what class are you in?" Kenji asked suddenly.

"3-1," Tezuka's reply was brief.

"Wow, that's great! Same as me!" Kenji's grin seemed to have become permanent. "Lucky!"

They entered the school gates. "It was this close?" Kenji said in disbelief. "Aw, man! I musta been wandering around this area for ages before I saw you! I'm such a genius with directions, huh?" he laughed good-naturedly at himself. "I bet you never get lost, do you?" he commented to Tezuka, who once again ignored him.

A boy with short hair gelled into a funky style approached them. "Tezuka, there you are!" he said distractedly "I'm sorry to bother you so early, but half the balls are missing again, and the karate club says it wasn't them this time. And Kaidoh got stuck up a tree trying to rescue a cat," he added, looking ready to tear his carefully gelled hair out.

Tezuka rubbed his temples wearily. School hadn't even started yet, and already he was getting a headache. Sometimes, being buchou of the Seigaku tennis club really was more trouble than it was worth.

"Who's Kaidoh?" Kenji chipped in interestedly. "Is the cat ok?"

Oishi looked even more upset. "The cat climbed down by itself after Kaidoh got stuck," he moaned glumly.

Kenji awkwardly patted Oishi on the back. "Well, if the cat could get down, then maybe Kaidoh's not really stuck either," he suggested helpfully.

Oishi looked miserable. "I don't think so" he said. Shouts drifted up from the general direction of the tennis courts. "See, you can hear them from here," Oishi added with a groan. "I think he's really stuck."

Kenji and Tezuka concentrated on the sounds.

"C'mon Kaidoh, just jump!" A voice yelled cheerfully.

"Fshuu. Onto that? No thank you, senpai!"

"But I dragged the mini-tramp all the way here from the gym just for you, nya!" the first voice whined.

"Why'd you climb up there in the first place if you couldn't get down, mamushi?" a third voice yelled teasingly.

"Fshuuu! Shut up, idiot!"

"M-maybe we should just get a ladder…" a quieter voice suggested hesitantly, followed by a sullen "Mada mada dane."

"Um… is that the tennis club?" Kenji asked, trying not to laugh.

"Aa," Tezuka replied, wondering where his aspirin was.

"Woah. Tennis really breeds weirdos, doesn't it."

Kenji looked impressed. "Does that guy seriously think the mini-tramp'll help?"

"Probably," Oishi moaned. "Tezuka, can you do something? They'll listen to you."

Tezuka nodded and strode off to deal with the problem. Just once, he reflected as he went, he'd like a day off.

* * *

Kenji leaned on Tezuka's desk during the brief interval between homeroom and their first class. "So, you're the tennis club's buchou?" he asked, grinning at Tezuka. "Bet that's fun." 

Tezuka had no way to tell if he was being serious or not.

"Who was that guy from before?" Kenji added. "Your fuku-buchou? He seemed kinda stressed out. What's his name?"

"Oishi Syuichiro," Tezuka replied tersely, placing his English set text and dictionary on his desk in preparation for the coming lesson, and squaring them up neatly with his pen.

"Oh. Did that Kaidoh guy get down? And what happened to the balls?" Kenji asked, grinning.

"Kaidoh is safely on the ground, and Tezuka had the club empty their pockets," A new arrival answered for Tezuka, pushing up a pair of eerily glinting glasses. "Good morning. I am Inui Sadaharu. Pleased to meet you."

Kenji jumped. "Whoah! Don't sneak up on people like that!" he exclaimed. "That's just creepy!"

Remembering his manners, he added quickly "Ishizuka Kenji. Pleased to meet you."

"Ishizuka Kenji?" Inui repeated, opening a plain green notebook and scribbling something down. "And would you happen to be interested in tennis by any chance?" The pen paused, waiting for an answer.

"No, I–" Kenji began. He was interrupted by Tezuka. "Inui. Go back to class," Tezuka ordered. "You can interview him at lunchtime."

Kenji stared. "Wow! You just said more than two words in one sentence!" he exclaimed in a surprised tone. Tezuka glared at him. Inui obeyed instructions as the bell rang, passing the teacher on the way out.

"Onegaishimasu," the teacher said, placing her notes on her desk. Everyone stopped talking. Kenji slipped back to his seat.

"Eh? Er… how's it go?" the class representative said distractedly. "Oh. Kiritsu!"

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"You know, I reckon that if I searched out the weirdest people in this school, they'd all turn out to be tennis players," Kenji mused to Tezuka as Inui set up his video recorder so he could analyse the interview more fully later. 

"No," Inui commented, overhearing. "Tamagawa Ryohei from the scienceclub collects mould, and Matsumoto Mizuki in the second grade frequently asks random people if they've seen her pet cockroach."

Kenji's jaw dropped. "She keeps a cockroach?" he asked, shocked.

"No," Inui returned calmly. "That's the point."

"Oh. Anyway," Kenji recovered himself. "I bet they're both closet tennis players or something."

"It's possible," Inui allowed. "I'm done. If you would care to sit here, we can commence the inquisition," he added, glasses glinting with excitement.

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This story has no plan, apart from being a way to de-angst my everyday life, so don't expect regular updates, and beware of occasional randomness factors. Though I do not intend to have any crazed elephants roaming the tennis courts of Seigaku.. 


	2. Fishy Tennis

Disclaimer: I do not own Tennis no Oujisama

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**Fishy Tennis ****

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"Man, the aikido club only has five members," Kenji complained to Tezuka a few days later. "And only one of then is any good," he added, dropping his bag next to his desk. Rummaging through it, he pulled out a calorie mate bar, unwrapped it, sat down on his chair, leaned it back onto two legs, and followed this lengthy process by biting a large chunk out of the bar.

"Aa," Tezuka grunted, not even looking up from the biology sheets he was perusing. Kenji really didn't need his participation in the conversation – he could keep it going well enough under his own steam.

"I mean seriously," Kenji continued, proving Tezuka's theory right. "There's this one guy who falls over whenever he so much as thinks about throwing someone!"

He grinned. "Kinda pathetic, huh?"

"Aa," came the, by now, standard response.

"So, what about your club?" Kenji asked Tezuka. "Is it any good?"

Tezuka was saved from straining his vocabulary by the sound of a new voice. "Why don't you come and see for yourself?" it asked. Kenji looked up at a gently smiling face and nearly dropped his calorie mate bar.

"Fuji. Did you want something?" Tezuka asked. Fuji turned closed eyes on the stoic buchou. "Why, I merely felt incomplete without the sight of your handsome face," he informed Tezuka with a quiet chuckle.

Kenji practically fell out of his seat. "Tezuka!" he yelled dramatically "How can you not be seeing anyone when faced with such utter loveliness?! That's just unbelievably stupid!"

Fuji turned closed eyes in Kenji's direction. "Why, thank you," he said serenely. "It is not every day one is called lovely."

Tezuka massaged his temples wearily. "Fuji is male," he informed Kenji tersely. "Fuji. Why did you really come here?"

Fuji handed Tezuka a textbook, which he automatically accepted. "Your history notes," he explained as the bell for homeroom rang. "Thank you. They were very helpful," he added, before wandering out of the classroom.

* * *

"Yo Tezuka, Fuji!" Kenji greeted the two cheerfully, "You got some big club here. Mind sharing a few with me?" he joked, passing a large group of boys doing warm-up stretches on the courts. 

"Ah, Ishizuka. So you decided to come after all," said Fuji with a smile.

Kenji grinned back. "I just couldn't wait to see your pretty face again," he explained cheerfully.

Fuji's permanent smile became a little wider. He was obviously amused by this response. "So many compliments," he demurred happily "I'm afraid I shall become conceited."

Kenji laughed, as Tezuka stoically resisted a strong urge to roll his eyes.

A cheerful red-haired boy with a band-aid on his face bounced over, draping himself over Fuji's shoulders. "Hoi hoi! Fujiko, who's this, nya?" he mewed loudly, immediately identifying himself to Fuji as 'mini-tramp boy'.

"Ishizuka Kenji, from Tezuka's class," Fuji replied. "Ishizuka, this is Kikumaru Eiji. He's from class 3-6," he informed Kenji.

"Please to meet you, nya!" Eiji gave a boisterous 'peace' sign, still hanging off Fuji's shoulders. "What's your favourite animal?" he asked. "I read a book," he informed Fuji as a side note. "It said your can tell a lot about a person by their favourite animal, nya."

Kenji laughed. "I like fish. I wish I could keep carp – they're my favourite – but my family lives in a mansion, so my parents would only let me get goldfish."

"Tezuka keeps carp," Fuji informed him. "I'm sure he'd be happy to show you sometime."

Tezuka glared at Fuji for issuing such an invitation without consulting him first.

"Wow, that'd be great!" Kenji replied. "I look forward to it!" he grinned. "By the way, what did that book say about fish lovers?"

"I forget, nya," Eiji confessed, pouting.

"Oh, that's too bad. Now I'm curious."

"I can tell you what it said about cat lovers, nya!" Eiji offered, cheering up at this sign of interest.

"Probably word for word," Fuji murmured through his ever-present smile.

"Yep, nya!" Eiji agreed cheerfully. Kenji laughed. "Maybe some other time," he suggested.

"Ok, nya!" Eiji agreed happily, before bouncing away to nag somebody into a doubles game.

"He's very bouncy, isn't he?" Kenji commented as he watched him go. "It's cute."

"Yes it is, isn't it," Fuji agreed. "His specialty is acrobatic tennis."

Kenji looked startled. "You mean he hits all the shots from a trapeze or something?" he asked.

Fuji chuckled. "No, but close. Watch."

Fuji having found his victims, the match began.

* * *

"That's just not normal," Kenji announced as Eiji leapt around the courts, performing all sorts of strange contortions. "Nobody should be able to bend like that." 

Fuji chuckled. "He tied himself into a knot once."

Kenji's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?! How?!"

"We're not sure," Fuji replied calmly. "He got stuck though. Oishi and Taka had to untie him."

"Are you serious?!" Kenji repeated himself in his shock. "And who's Taka?" he added.

"Kawamura Takashi, third year."

Fuji pointed to another court. "He's over there."

Kenji's eyes followed the direction Fuji's finger indicated. "Tennis players," he muttered, shaking his head. "They're all crazy."

Fuji chuckled. "I thought you said I was lovely," he commented.

"You probably just hide your crazy better," Kenji replied, eyeing the other boy warily. "Come to think of it, why do you always smile like that?" he asked curiously.

"Would you prefer I stopped?" Fuji made no effort to change his expression in the slightest.

"Nah," Kenji replied. "Keep your smile. It suits you."

He glanced over to where Tezuka was talking with Ryuzaki-sensei. "Speaking of smiles, has Tezuka ever been seen smiling?" he asked.

"Not to my knowledge," Fuji replied.

Kenji looked thoughtful. "D'ya reckon the world would end if he did smile?" he enquired.

"Probably not," Fuji smiled, amused by the suggestion.

"Maybe just a mild apocalypse then?" Kenji suggested.

Fuji chuckled. "I don't believe so, but you're welcome to test your theory if you can."

Kenji grinned. "What do you think would be most likely to make him smile?" he asked. "Maybe if I learned the hula and danced around in front of him all decked out in a hula skirt and my sister's pink bra?"

Fuji chuckled. "I would like to see that," he informed Kenji amusedly. "But I doubt Tezuka would appreciate it."

Kenji looked disappointed. "Damn, that was the best I could come up with."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," Fuji reassured him. "Good luck."

With that, he wandered off to begin practice.

* * *

Tezuka nodded goodbye to Fuji, the last of the team to leave, as he locked the clubroom door. Checking that it was secure, he turned around to make his own way home, stopping short as he almost ran into Kenji. 

"Fuji said that you'd show me your carp," Kenji reminded him.

Tezuka's expression didn't change. "No," he said flatly.

Kenji looked disappointed. "But I already called my parents to tell them I'd be late and everything."

"That is not my concern," Tezuka replied unfeelingly. He brushed past Kenji and made to leave, stopping short once more as he came up against Ryuzaki-sensei.

"Tezuka, what are you still doing here?" she admonished him, placing her hands solidly on her hips. "You're too responsible for a boy your age. Fuji told me you wanted to show this Kenji fellow your carp. There was no need to stay back so late. I can lock up perfectly well by myself!" she informed him

Tezuka felt his headache threatening to return. While he had no idea what Fuji was trying to do here, he knew from past experience that it would be futile to resist. Fuji was the master of instigation. Tezuka was no match for him once he got started.

Ryuzaki-sensei took the keys from his unresisting hands. "Go home," she ordered him. "And don't forget your friend," she added, as Tezuka obeyed her instructions and strode off. Kenji quickly followed, grinning. "Hey Tezuka! You just got told by an old lady!" he teased.

Ryuzaki-sensei did her best to ignore the 'old' comment.

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Yes, Eiji's knot was inspired by Darth Claire's 'Killer Tennis', in which Eiji somehow manages to twist himself into a pretzel. Also, regarding the "Fuji said you'd show me your carp" comment. My warped, twisted-beyond-belief mind just discovered a new word for penis. Just thought you'd like to know.. 


End file.
